huntley



June 12, 1923. 1,458,485

E. R. HUNTLEY FUEL FEED SYS TEM Filed March 19. 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTOR. Ernesz R. Huntley ATTORNEYS.

June 12, 1923. 1,458,485

E. R. HUNTLEY FUEL FEED SYSTEM Filed March 19 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Erpesl B. Huntley BY ATTORNEY Patented June 12, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST R. HUNTLEY, TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO INDUSTRIAL RESEARCHCORPORATION, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE. i

FUEL-FEED SYSTEM.

Application filed March 19, 1920. Serial No. 367,283.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST R. HUNTLEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Fuel-Feed Systems, ofwhich I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to improvements in fluid lifting means and hasreference particularly to means for feeding fuel to the carbureter of aninternal combustion engine from a tank positioned at a level below thatof the carbureter, as is frequently the case in automobiles.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of apparatusoperated 'by suction from the engine intake or otherwise, the

suction being employed to flex a diaphragm,

the movement of which causes the pumping action in the fluid line.Another object is to provide a diaphragm liquid pump with ports soproportioned that the use of lost motion valves in the suction line ismadeen- I tirely unnecessary.-

A further object is the provision of means for causing the diaphragm tomove back and forth slowly rather than to vibrate rapidly, therebyextending the life of the diaphragm. Diaphragm pumps for liquid feedingsystems are not broadly new, but as usually employed the (liaphragms arecaused to vibrate rapidly, and for that reason are subject to quickdeterioration. It is my aim,

to produce a comparatively slow movement of the diaphragm, therebygreatly lengthening its life, while at the same time avoiding acomplicated apparatus for accomplishing this result.

Other objects, and objects relating to details of construction andeconomies of manufacture, will appear as I proceed with the descriptionof that embodiment of the invention, which for the purposes of thepresent application, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure I is a more or less diagrammatic view showing thearrangement of the parts in the preferred form of my invention.

Fig. II is a central vertical section of the diaphragm pump in thepreferred form of the invention.

Fig. III is a view partly in centralvertical section taken on a plane atrightangles with that of Fig. II.

Fig. IV is a detail plan view of a bridge diaphragm pump, and

Fig. IX is a central, vertical, sectional view of an air chamber andco-operating parts employed in the second form of the invention.

Similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the views.

Referring particularly to the first sheet of drawing, 10 is a gas enginehaving an intakemanifold 11, to which is connected a carburetor 12having a fuel inlet pipe 13. 14 is a main fuel tank. A suction pipe 15extends from near the bottom of the tank up to the diaphragm pump whichwill now be described.

The pump casing consists principally of an upper section 16 and alowersection 17, between which is positioned a diaphragm 18, the three'partsbeing secured firmly together by means of machine screws 19. The pipe 13enters a chamber 20 in the upper section 16 of the casing throughsuitable connecting elements. From the bottom of the chamber 20 acentral passage 21. extends downwardlyinto a space above the diaphragm,passage 21 being surrounded by a wall, the upper end of which protrudesinto the chamber 20, forming a valve seat, upon which a pe ripherallyindented, disk-shaped check valve rests. The pipe 15 by which fuelenters the pump is joined by means of a suitable connection to the uppersection of the casing in communication with a second chamber 23. Themouth of the chamber 23, opening into the space above the diaphragm, iscovered by a downwardly opening springmetal flap valve 24, secured atone end to the casing by a rivet 25 or other suitable fastening. Thelower section 17 of the casing has downwardly extending bosses 26, inwhich there are threaded sockets to receive machine screws firstinserted from below in holes in a bracket 27 supported at any convenientpoint preferably upon the engine 10. The bracket is open at its centerin order to provide space for the; downwardly extending socket. 528;.

1 bridge piece ,and having. asmooth extremity' depending for somedistance below the nut 32. Thissmooth extremity serves as a guide foran'coilspringf88 mounted in socket 28, andbearing at one; end againstthe lower surface oflnut 32; An outwardly opening flat check valve 341,whenopenypermitsthe inflow of; air through the enlarged port: 91 to athe; space. below the diaphragm 18. The

valve'3'l is-held toitsseat largely by atmos- 1 pheric pressure, butthis action is. assisted particularly atithetime oi? closingthe valve bya light coil spring-35:,-- the: outer-end of which rests upon. aPGIffODIilGClPlELtG 36 se cured to the. casing. Near one end, the

bridge piece 80 is-bentsharply downward and terminates in: a ball end 37arranged to bear againstithe middle of the valve 345.

An adjustable: stop 38- is mounted in the" casing; in: aposition tobecontacted by the opposite end of the bridge piece when the latter is"drawrr down.

A small casting lOliavin avertical-pas sage: therethrough is threadedinto the. upper; section lfii'of thecasing; directly above the chamber20, and upon its upper e2:- tremity carries a metal bulb or dome 4L1,whichwserves as a chamber for trapping. air. A cross' shaped bareLQ ismounted in the casting 4'0, being held in positionby a driving; fit; andextending downwardly into the; chamber 20 to: a position just" above thevalve 22" for the purposeofl'preventing the.

latter from moving. too far from it's seat.

(Dn' sheet 2L of the drawing is shown an arrangement in which thediaphragm pump is located beneath: the main liquid tanlc. Two differentforms of pump are illustra't'ed. In" Fig. VII one side 50 of thepumpcasing is provided with a threaded lug f51', which may be screwed" intothe socket ordinarily provided for the drain plug ofthe tank; By meansof passages52 and 53 the interior ot-the tank is brought intocommunication with the space in the casing section 50 on oneside0tthediaphragm 18. The upturn'e'd end of the passage is coveredby aspringmetal flap valve 54. The exit" for liquid is through a ballcheckvalve 55an'dpipe 56.

In most respectsthe' apparatus upon the reverse side of the diaphragm isprecisely like. that of Fig. VII, and hence will-f not be againdescribed. The check valve 57 is mounted diflerently than the checkvalve 34:, itbeing inclined in such away that gravity tends to assist inthe-seating of the valve. It is prevented from too great movementfrom'its seat by a projection upon a screw cap58-which is bored. at 59in order to provide for the entrance 01'? air. Suction from the engineacting through pipe 60 tends to exhaust the air from the space at theright of the diaphragm. An air chamber: 61 is mounted. in a convenientpositionmpon the engine: in. communication with the pipe56,

and also in communication with another pipe 62 leadingto the carbureter12.

In Fig. VIII is shown a diaphragmpump which: may be used interchangeablywith that illustrated in Fig; VII. The spacev above the diaphragm 18 isin communica e tion with the interior of the tank through-aopening,check valve 69 is-located and heldw "from toogre'at upward'movement byadepcnding projection upona screw 63.1)70; Chamber 68' is incommunication with: pipe through which the fluijdis pumpedhup ward. Thesuction pipe GOopens intothc: space below the: diaphragm The. dimphragin is centrally perforated, the edge. around the perforationbeingrclampedwbe tweein a shoulder on. a chambered bolt 71 andthe undersurface oi?! a cup-shaped:nut 72; Within these elements is 'slidalllyzmounted theupper" end of valve stemr73" of a valve 7 1.- A coil; spring75 resistssthe downward movement of diaphragm 18". A small coilspring-76' bearing againsttlie nut 72 at one end-and againstacollaromthevalve stem at the other, provides a loose connectionbetween' the diaphragm and: valve, which pel'nllilS SOI116tlOWl1W2L1'dmove ment of the diaphragm from its median position before the valveisunseated-. Air may enter the space below the diaphragnr around thevalveid'when unseat'ed by way of a port 77 open to the atmosphere.

The several modifications ot pumps hene tofore described operate insubstantiallythe same manner. The difference between the structures ofFigs; II and VII is duepri'n cipally to the different locations of thepumps and to the mounting of .lLl1G'JClla phragm in a horizontahposition in oneinstance, and in a vertical position in the other;Referring first to the structure of Fig, II, when the engine begins'runnin the air from below the diaphragm is quiclrly exhausted" throughpipe" 29, and the diailiragm' descends. Ball end 37 of the bridge piece30 immediately encounters valve 3 1 which is held up by atmosphericpressure and spring as viewed in Fig. II. The leftside, how ever, maydescend free producing a bend or buckle in the middle of the diaphragmuntil the bridge piece strikes stop 38. Thereupon the efiect of furthersuction is to eliminate the bend or buckle and to rock the bridge pieceabout the end of stop 38'a't a pivot. When the pressure thus exerted bythe ball end 37 upon the valve 34 becomes great enough the valve opensand air rushes into the space below the diaphragm which, together withthe action of the spring 33, causes an upward movement of the diaphragm,whereupon the valve 34L- again seats and the operation is repeated. Itwill of course be obvious that upon the downward movement of thediaphragm suction is exerted above the latter, opening valve 2& anddrawing a charge of liquid through the latter, While upon the upwardmovement of the diaphragm, valve 2a is closed, valve 22 opens and acharge of liquid flows out through pipe 13 to the carbureter. When theneedle valve of the latter is closed and the pump continues to operate,fluid is forced up into the air chamber 41 compressing the air therein.The air trapped in the top of the chamber 41 tends to keep the pressureof liquid in pipe 13 constant. When this pressure and the pressure inchamber 41 reach a height equivalent to that which the diaphragm iscapable of exerting, the latter simply remains flexed downwardly, airentering through valve 34 and passing into the suction pipe 29.Attention is directed to the relative sizes of ports 90 and 91, the port91 having such capacity relative to the port 90 atmospheric pressure isestablished practically instantaneously therethrough in spite of thecontinued suction through port 90, thus permitting the elimination oi alost motion valve and other apparatus heretofore considered necessary inthe suction line of analogous devices.

The operation of the structure of Fig. VII will be obvious from theabove description.

In Fig. VIII the bridge piece on the diaphragm is eliminated and I haveemployed instead a loose connection between the diaphragm and air valvewhich permits the desired amount of downward motion before the air valveis opened. WVhe-n this occurs air enters the space below the diaphragmthrough port 77' and around valve 74, thereby relieving the suction andenabling the spring 7 5 to force the diaphragm upwardly, again seatingthe valve. In other respects the operation of this modification is likethat of Fig. VII.

Whether the structure of Fig. VII or that oi Fig. VIII is employed it isdesir- 85. This prevents movement of the right side of the diaphragmable, although not absolutely essential, to use an air chamber (31 whichmay be inserted in any convenient positlon between the pipes 56 and 62.The function of this chamber is precisely the same as that of airchamber L1 in the arrangement of parts shown in Fig. I.

I am aware that the particular embodiment of my invention abovedescribed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, is susceptibleof considerable variation without departing from the spirit thereof, andtherefore I desire to claim my invention broadly, as Well asspecifically, as indicated by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a liquid feed system, a diaphragm pump including a diaphragm, acasing in which said diaphragm is clamped at its periphery, fluid inletand outlet connections in said casing at one side of said diaphragm, theopposite side of said casing having a constricted continuously open portadapted to be connected to a suction producing means, and having arelatively enlarged port to the atmosphere, an outwardly opening checkvalve for said latter port, means actuated by the diaphragm for openingsaid check valve, the operation of said means being delayed until afterthe diaphragm has moved a substantial distance beyond neutral position.

2. In a liquid feed system, a diaphragm pump including a diaphragm, acasing in which said diaphragm is clamped at its periphery, fluid inletand outlet connections in said casing at one side of said diaphragm, theopposite side of said casing having a continuously open port adapted tobe connected to a suction producing means and having a port to theatmosphere, an outwardly opening check valve for said latter port, avalve operating member mounted centrally of the diaphragm having one armadapted to contact with said check valve to open the latter, and asecond arm spaced at its free end from the diaphragm, and a set screwmounted in and extending through said casing in a position to becontacted by said free end.

3. In a liquid feed system, a diaphragm pump including a resilientdiaphragm, a casing in which said diaphragm is clamped at its periphery,fluid inlet and outlet connections in said casing at one side of saiddiaphragm, the opposite side of said casing having a continuously openport adapted to be connected to a suction producing means, and. having aport to the atmosphere, an outwardly opening check valve for said latterport, a valve operating member mounted upon said diaphragm at the centerthere of having one arm adapted to contact with said check valve to openthe latter, and a second arm spaced at its free end from the diaphragm,-and an abutment for said last named arm movable from outside the casingtoward and away from the arm.

4. In a, liquid fuel system, a diaphragm pump including a diaphragm, acasing in which said, diaphragm is clamped at its periphery, liquidinlet and. outlet'eonneotions in said casing at one side ofseiddiaphragm, the opposite side o'iisuid'eusing havinge continu- 10 ouslyopen port adapted in be connected to a suction producing means, andhaving :1:

eagan port to the atmosphere,nn outwardly 0peningg check valve for saidlatter port, means: actuetedby thediaphmgm for openlng said checkvalve,the operntion of said means bemn; delayed until after the diaphragm hasmoved a substantialdistuncebeyond neutral In testimony whereof, I MEX-mysignature. 20

ERNEST R. HUNJTLEY.v

